Acetylene-gas generator.



Patented Aug. 7, |900.

J. W. LAWRENCE. ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application filed Oct, 26, 1899.)

,3 Sheets-Sheet l,

(No Model.)

Mien??? No. 655,632. Patented Aug. 7, |900.

. J. W. LAWRENCE.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application filed Oct. 26, 1899.) (N0 Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ffy-#7 z/ kfw@ y i No. 655,632. Patented Aug. 7, |900..

lJ. W. LAWRENCE. ACETYLE-NE GAS GENERATOR.

, (Application filed Oct. 26, 1899.)

I(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheat 3.

Ey; fr

l 'guardes NrrEn lrArEs JAMEs W. LAWRENCE, oE MrNNEAPoLIs, MINNESOTA.

ACETYLEN EeAs GEN ERATOR.

srEoIrrcArroN forming part of Letters. frat-.ent No. 655,632, date August 7, leoo.

Appumio'nriea october ze, 1999. seni No. 794,809. un man.)

.T all whom it may concern: p

Be it known that I, J AMEs W. LAWRENCE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene Gas Generators; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled'in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to acetylenegas genf erators, and has forits object to improve the same in the several particulars hereinafter noted; and it consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter describedand defined in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the generator with its parts in working position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line x2 of Fig. 1, some parts being broken away. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the same line as Fig. 2, but showing the pivoted gas holder or bell turned upside down to give access to the carbid-holder. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the generator with the parts in position as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line x5 m5 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the carbid-holder reL moved from the generator.

Referring to the construction of the geuerator as illustrated in the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the water tank or receptacle, the same being rectangular in formand open at its top. This tank contains a body of water, (indicated at 2,) and it is provided at its sides below the level of the column of water a' with inwardly projected `journal boxes or bearings 2 of any suitable construction.

The support forlthe carbid-holder isJ in the form of a bracket made up of a pair of vertical standards 3 with horizontally-extended and parallel side pieces 4 at their upper ends. The lower ends of the standards 3 are shown as flanged at 5, these iianged portions being riveted or otherwise secured to the bottom of the tank 1, and the outer ends of the horizontal bars or portions 4 are tied together by a transverse strap or bar 6.

The carbid-holder may take various forms; but itis preferably of the form best illustrated in Fig. 6,1out also illustrated in the other views. This carbid-holder is in the form of an open-topped rectangular box 7, subdivided into compartments by vertical partitions 8, 9, 10, and 11, the said partitions being eX- teuded successively higher and higher in the order given for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. Supportingcleats 12 are secured to the upper side portions of the holder 7. The carbid-holder 7 has such transverse dimension that when placed in working position, as shown in the drawings, it will pass between the horizontal bars or portions 4 of the supporting-bracket, and the cleats 12` thereof will rest upon the said bars 4 to port the carbid-holder.

When the carbid-holder is in position and the machine is set for generation, the carbidholder and itsu supporting-bracket 3 4 are inclosed within a gas-receptacle 13, which is somewhat in the form of a bell or, otherwise described, is of drum-like form horizontally disposed, with an open bottom immersed in the column of water of the tank 1. The

`drum or bell 13 is pivotally mounted for move- A suitable lock is provided for holding the IOO Vater is delivered to the carbid (indicated at z in the carbid-holder 7 )from a suitable source of supply through a small delivery pipe or tube 22. This pipe 22, as shown, extends through the lower portion of one wall of the tank '1, rises through the column of water s within the bulged portion 16 of the drum or bell 13, (when said drum is in normal pothe pipe or tube 22 23 is conducted therefrom through a pipe 24, which extends vertically within the bulged portion 16 of said drum 13 and is then extended outward through one wall ofthe tank 1. This gas-conveying pipe 24 may in practice be connected to a storagegasometer, although a storage-gasometer is not a necessary adjunct to my improved generator. Again, a storage gasometer connected with the generator may be made to automatically control suitable valve mechanyism in the water-supply pipe 22 or to otherwise control the discharge of the water through `the said water-supply pipe; but this, again, is .not a necessary feature of my invention.

It will be noted that when the carbid-holder 7 is in working position, as shown by full lines in the drawings, considerable space is left between the strap or bar 6 of the bracket 3 4and the adjacent end of the carbid-holder.

' This permits the carbid-holder to be slid into the position indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4, in which position it may be raised vertically without engaging the nozzle 23 of the water-supply pipe. This endwise adjustflnent of the carbid-holder is made necessary vor at least desirable from the fact that said nozzle 23 normally stands over the adjacent end `of the carbid-holder, so as to prevent it l from being raised vertically.

The operation of the generator above described may be briefly stated. As already stated, the water is delivered to the carbid through the delivery-pipe 22 23 intermittently vor otherwise and will iirst be discharged onto the carbid in the compartment formed between the partitions 10 and 11. The complete generation of the carbid in this compartment will take place before the carbid in the adjacent compartment will be acted upon. After the carbid in said first compartment has been completely decomposed and all the gas possible to be evolved has been evolved therefrom the water will overflow the partition 1,0 and will attack the carbid in the adjacent compartment formed between the partitions 9 and 10. This action will be repeated yuntil the carbid in each compartment of the carbid-holder has been decomposed.

As preliminary to removing the carbidholden'the latch or hook 17 is raised and the gas drum or bell 13 is turned upside down by 'pivotal movements on its trunnion 14 or into the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In this position the open bottom portion 15 of the drum is turned upward immediately over the carbid-holder 7, and the carbid-holderhaving irst been slid into the position indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4 may be lifted vertically from working position, emptied of the residue, recharged with carbid, and replaced in working position. The above manner of mounting the gas receptacle or drum 13 gives an extremely-easy access to the carbid-holder and even'in a very large generator requires but very little force to shift the said gas receptacle or drum from its operative into its inoperative position, and vice versa, this being due principally to the fact that the said drum is very nearly balanced on its pivotal support. Furthermore, as the said drum is given a pivotal movement, as described, into and out of the column of water in the tank 1 very little or no drag or suction will be produced by the water within the said drum to resist the pivotal movement of the same from its operative into its inoperative position. However, I do not limit myself to this particular manner of pivotally mounting the gas-containing drum, although I consider the construction substantially as illustrated in the drawings as having manyadvantages over and as being preferable to other constructions within the broad scope of my invention. The drum 13 is bulged, as shown at 16, so as to inclose the pipes 22 and 24 and at the same time to leave as little space for the gas as possible within the drum above the water, this being desirable, of course, in order to reduce to the minimum the amount of gas permitted to escape into the room when the drum is inverted.

It will of course be understood that when the drum 13 is turned from its inverted back to its normal position the projection 20, car- IOO ried thereby, will by its cam action on the end of the latch 17 be automatically caught Aand held by the said latch. It will also be understood that when the drum or bell 13 is in normal position the bottom 15 thereof will be closed by the column of waters, which seals the gas-holder, but permits a considerable variation in the quantity of gas held therein, this variation being given by the Varying altitude of the column of water within the said gas-holder.

It will be further understood that my vinvention is capable of considerable modiication other than as above indicated, and hence I do not limit myself to the specific construction shown in the drawings.

lVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

l. In a gas-generator, the combination with a water tank or receptacle, of a gas holder or drum mounted on a pivot for movements to and from operative position, a carbid-holder support, independent of said gas holder or drum, a carbid-holder supported by said support, within said holder or drum and adapted to be inclosedv within and exposed without IIO the said holder, when said holder is moved respectively into and from Working position, substantially as described.

2. In a gasgenerator, the combination with a Water tank or receptacle, of a gas-holder open at its bottom and mounted for pivotal movement Within said tank, a carbid-holder support rising through the open bottom of said gas-holder at one extremity thereof, and a carbid-holder removably held by said support and removable through the bottom of said gas-holder, when the same is inverted, substantially as described.

3. In a gas-generator, the combination with a Water tank or receptacle, of a gas-containing drum or receptacle open at its bottom and mounted for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis in bearings secured to said tank, a support for the carbid-holder, a Water-su pply pipe and a gas conveying pipe all rising through the opening in the bottomof said drum, and a carbid-holder held by the 'said support and removable through the bottom of the said pivoted drum When the said drum is inverted or turned open bottom upward, substantially as described.

L In a gas-generator, the combination with the Water-tank l, of the. gas druml or bell 13 pivoted to the sides of said tank by bearings 2 and trunnions 14, a latch for securing said drum in its normal position, the support 3, L for the carbid-holder projecting through the bottom of said drum, the carbid-holder '7 having the cleats l2 engageable with the horizontal bars 4 of said support, the Water-pipe 22, 23 and gas-pipe 24 both passing through said tank 1 and rising into the gas-drum through the open bottom thereof, substantially as described. i

5. In a gas-generator, the combination With the Water tank or receptacle, and a gas drum or receptacle movable to and from operative positions, of the support comprising the vertical standards 3 rising Within said gas drum or receptacle and provided with the horizontal bars 4 tied bythe cross-strap G, the Watersupply pipe 22 with discharge-nozzle 23, and the carbid-holder 7 adjustably mounted on said horizontal bars I4 With freedom. for sliding adjustments with respect to said discharge-nozzle 23, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES W. LAWRENCE.

lVitnesses:

MABEL M. MoGRoRY, F. D. MERCHANT. 

